Thin film deposition apparatus

ABSTRACT

A thin film deposition apparatus includes: a deposition source that discharges a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a side of the deposition source and including a plurality of deposition source nozzles arranged in a first direction; a patterning slit sheet disposed opposite to the deposition source nozzle unit and including a plurality of patterning slits arranged in the first direction; a position detection member that detects a relative position of the substrate to the patterning slit sheet; and an alignment control member that controls a relative position of the patterning slit sheet to the substrate by using the relative position of the substrate detected by the position detection member, wherein the thin film deposition apparatus and the substrate are separated from each other, and the thin film deposition apparatus and the substrate are moved relative to each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This divisional application claims priority to U.S. application Ser. No.13/014,225, filed Jan. 26, 2011, entitled Thin Film DepositionApparatus, which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.10-2010-0021835, filed on Mar. 11, 2010, in the Korean IntellectualProperty Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in itsentirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Aspects of the present invention relate to a thin film depositionapparatus, and more particularly to a thin film deposition apparatusthat can be simply applied to produce large-sized display devices on amass scale and that improves manufacturing yield.

2. Description of the Related Art

Organic light-emitting display devices have a larger viewing angle,better contrast characteristics, and a faster response rate than otherdisplay devices, and thus have drawn attention as a next-generationdisplay device.

An organic light-emitting display device includes intermediate layers,including an emission layer disposed between a first electrode and asecond electrode that are arranged opposite to each other. Theelectrodes and the intermediate layers may be formed via variousmethods, one of which is a deposition method. When an organiclight-emitting display device is manufactured by using the depositionmethod, a fine metal mask (FMM) having the same pattern as a thin filmto be formed is disposed to closely contact a substrate, and a thin filmmaterial is deposited over the FMM in order to form the thin film havingthe desired pattern.

However, the deposition method using such an FMM presents difficultiesin manufacturing larger devices using a mother glass having a size of 5G or greater. For example, when such a large mask is used, the mask maybend due to self-gravity, thereby distorting a pattern. Suchdisadvantages are not conducive for the recent trend towardshigh-definition patterns.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to address the drawback of the deposition method using a finemetal mask (FMM) and/or other issues, aspects of the present inventionprovide a thin film deposition apparatus that may be simply applied toproduce large-sized display devices on a mass scale and that may besuitable for high-definition patterning.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided athin film deposition apparatus to form a thin film on a substrate, theapparatus comprising: a deposition source that discharges a depositionmaterial; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a side of thedeposition source and including a plurality of deposition source nozzlesarranged in a first direction; a patterning slit sheet disposed oppositeto and spaced apart from the deposition source nozzle unit and includinga plurality of patterning slits arranged in the first direction; abarrier plate assembly comprising a plurality of barrier plates that aredisposed between the deposition source nozzle unit and the patterningslit sheet in the first direction, and that partition a space betweenthe deposition source nozzle unit and the patterning slit sheet into aplurality of sub-deposition spaces; a position detection member thatdetects a relative position of the substrate to the patterning slitsheet; and an alignment control member that controls a relative positionof the patterning slit sheet to the substrate by using the relativeposition of the substrate detected by the position detection member,wherein the thin film deposition apparatus and the substrate are spacedapart from each other, and the thin film deposition apparatus or thesubstrate is moved relative to each other.

According to non-limiting aspect, the patterning slit sheet may includea first alignment mark, the substrate may include a second alignmentmark, and the position detection member may further include a camerathat takes images of the first alignment mark and the second alignmentmark.

According to non-limiting aspect, the second alignment mark may includeat least one stripe that is substantially parallel to a direction inwhich the substrate is moved.

According to non-limiting aspect, the thin film deposition apparatus mayfurther include a focus control member disposed between the camera andthe patterning slit sheet to control a focal point of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the focus control member may bedisposed to be rotatable, and may include a first hole and a second holethat have different refractive indices.

According to non-limiting aspect, one of the first hole and the secondhole may be filled with a transparent material.

According to non-limiting aspect, the focus control member may bedisposed in such a way that the first hole and the second hole alternateon an optical axis of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the camera may take the images whilereciprocating along an optical axis of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the position detection member mayfurther include: a laser irradiation member that irradiates a laser beamin a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which thesubstrate is moved; and at least one measurement member coaxiallydisposed with the laser beam irradiated from the laser irradiationmember and comprising a third alignment mark.

According to non-limiting aspect, the alignment control member mayinclude at least two first actuators providing a predetermined drivingforce to move the patterning slit sheet or the substrate in the firstdirection.

According to non-limiting aspect, the alignment control member mayinclude at least three second actuators providing a predetermineddriving force to move the patterning slit sheet or the substrate in adirection perpendicular to a deposition surface of the substrate.

According to non-limiting aspect, the patterning slit sheet may besmaller than the substrate.

According to non-limiting aspect, the plurality of barrier plates mayextend in a second direction substantially perpendicular to the firstdirection.

According to non-limiting aspect, the plurality of barrier plates may bearranged at equal intervals.

According to non-limiting aspect, the barrier plate assembly may includea first barrier plate assembly including a plurality of first barrierplates, and a second barrier plate assembly including a plurality ofsecond barrier plates.

According to non-limiting aspect, each of the first barrier plates andeach of the second barrier plates may extend in a second directionsubstantially perpendicular to the first direction.

According to non-limiting aspect, the first barrier plates may bearranged to respectively correspond to the second barrier plates.

According to non-limiting aspect, each pair of the corresponding firstand second barrier plates may be arranged on substantially the sameplane.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided athin film deposition apparatus for forming a thin film on a substrate,the apparatus comprising: a deposition source that discharges adeposition material; a deposition source nozzle unit disposed at a sideof the deposition source and including a plurality of deposition sourcenozzles arranged in a first direction; a patterning slit sheet disposedopposite to and spaced apart from the deposition source nozzle unit andincluding a plurality of patterning slits arranged in a second directionperpendicular to the first direction; a position detection member thatdetects a relative position of the substrate to the patterning slitsheet; and an alignment control member that controls a relative positionof the patterning slit sheet to the substrate by using the relativeposition of the substrate detected by the position detection member,wherein a deposition is performed while the substrate or the thin filmdeposition apparatus is moved relative to each other in the firstdirection, and the deposition source, the deposition source nozzle unit,and the patterning slit sheet are integrally formed as one body.

According to non-limiting aspect, the patterning slit sheet may includea first alignment mark, the substrate may include a second alignmentmark, and the position detection member may further include a camerathat takes images of the first alignment mark and the second alignmentmark.

According to non-limiting aspect, the second alignment mark may includeat least one stripe that is substantially parallel to a direction inwhich the substrate is moved.

According to non-limiting aspect, the thin film deposition apparatus mayfurther include a focus control member disposed between the camera andthe patterning slit sheet to control a focal point of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the focus control member may bedisposed to be rotatable, and may include a first hole and a second holethat have different refractive indices.

According to non-limiting aspect, one of the first hole and the secondhole may be filled with a transparent material.

According to non-limiting aspect, the focus control member may bedisposed in such a way that the first hole and the second hole alternateon an optical axis of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the camera may take the images whilereciprocating along an optical axis of the camera.

According to non-limiting aspect, the position detection member mayfurther include: a laser irradiation member that irradiates a laser beamin a direction substantially parallel to a direction in which thesubstrate is moved; and at least one measurement member coaxiallydisposed with the laser beam irradiated from the laser irradiationmember and comprising a third alignment mark.

According to non-limiting aspect, the alignment control member mayinclude at least two first actuators providing a predetermined drivingforce to move the patterning slit sheet or the substrate in the firstdirection.

According to non-limiting aspect, the alignment control member mayinclude at least three second actuators providing a predetermineddriving force to move the patterning slit sheet or the substrate in adirection perpendicular to a deposition surface of the substrate.

According to non-limiting aspect, the deposition source and thedeposition source nozzle unit, and the patterning slit sheet may beintegrally connected as one body by a connection member.

According to non-limiting aspect, the connection member may guide a flowpath of the deposition material.

According to non-limiting aspect, the connection member may seal a spacebetween the deposition source nozzle unit disposed at the side of thedeposition source, and the patterning slit sheet.

According to non-limiting aspect, the thin film deposition apparatus maybe separated from the substrate by a predetermined distance.

According to non-limiting aspect, the deposition material dischargedfrom the thin film deposition apparatus may be continuously deposited onthe substrate while the substrate or the thin film deposition apparatusis moved relative to each other in the first direction.

According to non-limiting aspect, the patterning slit sheet of the thinfilm deposition apparatus may be smaller than the substrate.

According to non-limiting aspect, the plurality of deposition sourcenozzles may be tilted at a predetermined angle.

The plurality of deposition source nozzles may include deposition sourcenozzles arranged in two rows formed in the first direction, and thedeposition source nozzles in the two rows may be tilted to face eachother.

According to non-limiting aspect, the plurality of deposition sourcenozzles may include deposition source nozzles arranged in two rowsformed in the first direction, wherein the deposition source nozzles ofa row located at a first side of the patterning slit sheet may bearranged to face a second side of the patterning slit sheet, and thedeposition source nozzles of the other row located at the second side ofthe patterning slit sheet may be arranged to face the first side of thepatterning slit sheet.

According to a another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a thin film deposition apparatus to form a thin film on asubstrate, the apparatus including at least one thin film depositionassembly including a deposition source that discharges a depositionmaterial through a plurality of deposition source nozzles; a patterningslit sheet disposed opposite to and spaced apart from the depositionsource nozzles and spaced apart from the substrate and including aplurality of patterning slits through which the deposition materialpasses to be deposited on the substrate; a conveyor unit that conveysthe substrate relative to the patterning slit sheet from a startingposition, in which the deposition material that passes through thepatterning slits is deposited on a leading portion of the substrate,through a middle position, in which the deposition material that passesthrough the patterning slits is deposited on a middle portion of thesubstrate, to a finishing position, in which the deposition materialthat passes through the patterning slits is deposited on a trailingportion of the substrate; a position detection system that detects anorientation of the substrate and a relative position of the substratewith respect to the patterning slit sheet; and an alignment controlsystem that corrects errors in the orientation and relative position ofthe patterning slit sheet with respect the substrate based on theorientation and relative position of the substrate detected by theposition detection member.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forthin part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obviousfrom the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other features and advantages of aspects of the presentinvention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplaryembodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a thin film deposition apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a modified example of the thin film depositionapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an example of an electrostatic chuckof FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly of the thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1, according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional side view of the thin film depositionassembly of FIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view of the thin film deposition assembly ofFIG. 4, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a rear surface of a substrate, a real surface of apatterning slit sheet of the thin film deposition assembly of FIG. 4,and an alignment mark on the rear surface of the substrate;

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate positional relations among a focus controlmember and a camera of the thin film deposition assembly of FIG. 4, andthe substrate;

FIG. 10 illustrates a positional relation among a laser irradiationmember and measurement members of the thin film deposition assembly ofFIG. 4, and the substrate;

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary arrangement of cameras for real-timealignment between a substrate and the thin film deposition assembly inthe thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate exemplary arrangements of actuators forreal-time alignment of the substrate and the thin film depositionassembly in the thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a graph schematically illustrating a distribution pattern ofa deposition film formed on a substrate when deposition source nozzlesare not tilted in the thin film deposition assembly of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a graph schematically illustrating a distribution pattern ofa deposition film formed on a substrate when the deposition sourcenozzles are tilted in the thin film deposition assembly of FIG. 11;

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an active matrix organiclight-emitting display device fabricated by using a thin film depositionapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate additional exemplary arrangements ofactuators for real-time alignment of the substrate and the thin filmdeposition assembly in the thin film deposition apparatus of FIG.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elementsthroughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explainaspects of the present invention by referring to the figures.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG.2 illustrates a modified example of the thin film deposition apparatusof FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a view of an example of an electrostatic chuck 600.

Referring to FIG. 1, the thin film deposition apparatus according to thecurrent embodiment includes a loading unit 710, a deposition unit 730,an unloading unit 720, a first conveyer unit 610 and a second conveyerunit 620.

The loading unit 710 may include a first rack 712, a transport robot714, a transport chamber 716, and a first inversion chamber 718.

A plurality of substrates 500 onto which a deposition material has notyet been applied are stacked up on the first rack 712. The transportrobot 714 picks up one of the substrates 500 from the first rack 712,disposes it on the electrostatic chuck 600 transferred by the secondconveyor unit 620, and moves the electrostatic chuck 600 on which thesubstrate 500 is disposed into the transport chamber 716.

The first inversion chamber 718 is disposed adjacent to the transportchamber 716. The first inversion chamber 718 includes a first inversionrobot 719 that inverts the electrostatic chuck 600 and then loads itinto the first conveyer unit 610 of the deposition unit 730.

Referring to FIG. 3, the electrostatic chuck 600 may include anelectrode 602 embedded in a main body 601 formed of ceramic, wherein theelectrode 602 is supplied with power. The electrostatic chuck 600 mayfix the substrate 500 on a surface of the main body 601 when a highvoltage is applied to the electrode 602.

Referring to FIG. 1, the transport robot 714 places one of thesubstrates 500 on the surface of the electrostatic chuck 600 andtransfers the electrostatic chuck 600 on which the substrate 500 isdisposed into the transport chamber 716. The first inversion robot 719inverts the electrostatic chuck 600 so that the substrate 500 is turnedupside down in the deposition unit 730. In other words, in FIGS. 1 and2, the first inversion robot 719 inverts the electrostatic chuck 600from an orientation in which the substrate 500 is on an opposite side ofthe electrostatic chuck 600 from the thin film deposition assemblies100, 200, 300, 400 (and in which the substrate faces a viewer of FIGS. 1and 2) to an orientation in which the substrate 500 faces the thin filmdeposition assemblies 100, 200, 300, 400.

The unloading unit 720 is constituted to operate in an opposite mannerto the loading unit 710 described above. Specifically, a secondinversion robot 729 in a second inversion chamber 728 inverts theelectrostatic chuck 600, which has passed through the deposition unit730 while the substrate 500 is disposed on the electrostatic chuck 600,and then moves the electrostatic chuck 600 on which the substrate 500 isdisposed into an ejection chamber 726. Then, an ejection robot 724removes the electrostatic chuck 600 on which the substrate 500 isdisposed from the ejection chamber 726, separates the substrate 500 fromthe electrostatic chuck 600, and then loads the substrate 500 into thesecond rack 722. The electrostatic chuck 600, separated from thesubstrate 500, is returned back into the loading unit 710 via the secondconveyer unit 620.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above description.For example, when disposing the substrate 500 on the electrostatic chuck600, the substrate 500 may be fixed onto a bottom surface of theelectrostatic chuck 600 (that is, a surface of the electrostatic chuck600 that faces away from a viewer of FIGS. 1 and 2 and faces the thinfilm deposition assemblies 100, 200, 300, 400) and then moved into thedeposition unit 730. In this case, for example, the first inversionchamber 718 and the first inversion robot 719, and the second inversionchamber 728 and the second inversion robot 729 are not required.

The deposition unit 730 may include at least one deposition chamber. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the deposition unit 730 may include a firstchamber 731. In this case, first to four thin film deposition assemblies100, 200, 300, and 400 may be disposed in the first chamber 731.Although FIG. 1 illustrates that a total of four thin film depositionassemblies, i.e., the first to fourth thin film deposition assemblies100 to 400, are installed in the first chamber 731, the total number ofthin film deposition assemblies that may be installed in the firstchamber 731 may vary according to a desired deposition material anddeposition conditions. The first chamber 731 is maintained in a vacuumstate during a deposition process. In the schematic system configurationdiagrams of FIGS. 1 and 2, the thin deposition assemblies 100, 200, 300and 400 are positioned such that deposition material from the thindeposition assemblies travels in a direction towards the viewer and isdeposited on a substrate 500 on a surface of the electrostatic chuck 600facing the facing the thin deposition assemblies 100, 200, 300 and 400,but it is to be understood that other configurations are possible.

In the thin film deposition apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2, adeposition unit 730 may include a first chamber 731 and a second chamber732 that are connected to each other. In this case, first and secondthin film deposition assemblies 100 and 200 may be disposed in the firstchamber 731, and third and fourth thin film deposition assemblies 300and 400 may be disposed in the second chamber 732. It is to beunderstood that the number of chambers and the number of thin filmdeposition assemblies may vary from what is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the electrostatic chuck 600 onwhich the substrate 500 is disposed may be moved at least to thedeposition unit 730 or may be moved sequentially to the loading unit710, the deposition unit 730, and the unloading unit 720, by the firstconveyor unit 610. The electrostatic chuck 600 that is separated fromthe substrate 500 in the unloading unit 720 is moved back to the loadingunit 710 by the second conveyor unit 620.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the thin film deposition assembly 100 ofthe thin film deposition mentioned above will be described in moredetail. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 of the thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1,FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the thin film depositionassembly 100 illustrated in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional planview of the thin film deposition assembly 100 illustrated in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the thin film deposition assembly 100according to the current embodiment of the present invention includes adeposition source 110, a deposition source nozzle unit 120, a barrierplate assembly 130 including barrier plates 131, and patterning slitsheet 150 including patterning slits 151. The thin film depositionassembly 100 may further include a position detection member including acamera 170, a focus control member 180, a laser irradiation member 190,and an alignment control member including an actuator (see FIGS. 12 and13). The position detection member and the alignment control member willbe described later in detail.

Although a chamber is not illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 6 forconvenience of explanation, all the components of the thin filmdeposition apparatus 100 may be disposed within a chamber that ismaintained at an appropriate degree of vacuum, such as, for example, thefirst vacuum chamber 731 or the second vacuum chamber 732. The chamberis maintained at an appropriate vacuum in order to allow a depositionmaterial to move in a substantially straight line through the thin filmdeposition apparatus 100.

In the thin film deposition apparatus, in order to deposit a depositionmaterial 115 that has been discharged from the deposition source 110 andpassed through the deposition source nozzle unit 120 and the patterningslits 151, onto the substrate 500 in a desired pattern, it is desirableto maintain the chamber (not shown) in a high-vacuum state. In addition,the temperature of the barrier wall assembly 130 and patterning slitsheet 150 should be sufficiently lower than the temperature of thedeposition source 110 to maintain a space between the deposition sourcenozzle unit 110 and the patterning slit sheet 150 in a high-vacuumstate. In this regard, the temperatures of the barrier wall assembly 130and the patterning slit sheet 150 may be about 100° C. or less, becausethe deposition material 115 that has collided against the barrier plateassembly 130 does not become vaporized again when the temperature of thebarrier plate assembly 130 and the patterning slit sheet 150 issufficiently low. In addition, thermal expansion of the patterning slitsheet 150 may be minimized when the temperature of the patterning slitsheet 150 is sufficiently low. The barrier plate assembly 130 faces thedeposition source 110, which is at a high temperature. In addition, thetemperature of a portion of the barrier plate assembly 130 close to thedeposition source 110 may rise by a maximum of about 167° C., and thus apartial-cooling apparatus (not shown) may be further included if needed.

In the first chamber 731 of FIG. 1, in which the thin film depositionassembly 100 is disposed, the substrate 500, which constitutes adeposition target on which the deposition material 115 is to bedeposited, is transferred by the electrostatic chuck 600. The substrate500 may be a substrate for flat panel displays. A large substrate, suchas a mother glass, for manufacturing a plurality of flat panel displays,may be used as the substrate 500. Other substrates may also be employed.

In an embodiment, the substrate 500 or the thin film deposition assembly100 may be moved relative to each other. Herein, where it is stated thatthe substrate and thin film deposition assembly are moved relative toeach other, it is to be understood that such statement encompasses anembodiment in which only the substrate is moved and the thin filmdeposition assembly remains stationary, an embodiment in which only thethin film deposition assembly is moved and the substrate remainsstationary and an embodiment in which both the thin film depositionassembly and the substrate are moved. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 4, the substrate 500 may be moved in a direction of an arrow A,relative to the thin film deposition assembly 100.

In a conventional deposition method using a fine metal mask (FMM), thesize of the FMM is typically greater than or equal to the size of asubstrate. Thus, the size of the FMM has to be increased when depositionis performed on a larger substrate. However, it is difficult tomanufacture a large FMM and to extend an FMM to be accurately alignedwith a pattern.

In order to overcome this problem, in the thin film deposition assembly100 according to the current embodiment of the present invention,deposition may be performed while the thin film deposition assembly 100and the substrate 500 are moved relative to each other. In other words,deposition may be continuously performed while the substrate 500, whichis disposed such as to face the thin film deposition assembly 100, ismoved in a Y-axis direction. That is, deposition is performed in ascanning manner while the substrate 500 is moved in a direction of arrowA in FIG. 4. Although the substrate 500 is illustrated as being moved inthe Y-axis direction in FIG. 3 when deposition is performed, the presentinvention is not limited thereto. Deposition may be performed while thethin film deposition assembly 100 is moved in the Y-axis direction,while the substrate 500 is held in a fixed position. For example, thetransporting of the electrostatic chuck 600 having the substrate 500fixed thereon by the first conveyor unit 610 may be paused whiledeposition is performed.

Thus, in the thin film deposition assembly 100 according to the currentembodiment of the present invention, the patterning slit sheet 150 maybe significantly smaller than an FMM used in a conventional depositionmethod. In other words, in the thin film deposition assembly 100,deposition is continuously performed, i.e., in a scanning manner whilethe substrate 500 is moved in the Y-axis direction. Thus, a length ofthe patterning slit sheet 150 in the Y-axis direction may besignificantly less than a length of the substrate 500 in the Y-axisdirection. A width of the patterning slit sheet 150 in the X-axisdirection and a width of the substrate 500 in the X-axis direction maybe substantially equal to each other. However, even when the width ofthe patterning slit sheet 150 in the X-axis direction is less than thewidth of the substrate 500 in the X-axis direction, deposition may beperformed on the entire substrate 500 in a scanning manner while thesubstrate 500 and the thin film deposition assembly 100 are movedrelative each other.

As described above, since the patterning slit sheet 150 may be formed tobe significantly smaller than an FMM used in a conventional depositionmethod, it is relatively easy to manufacture the patterning slit sheet150 used in aspects of the present invention. In other words, using thepatterning slit sheet 150, which is smaller than an FMM used in aconventional deposition method, is more convenient in all processes,including etching and subsequent other processes, such as preciseextension, welding, moving, and cleaning processes, compared to theconventional deposition method using the larger FMM. This is moreadvantageous for manufacturing a relatively large display device.

In order to perform deposition while the thin film deposition assembly100 and the substrate 500 are moved relative to each other as describedabove, the thin film deposition assembly 100 and the substrate 500 maybe spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. This willbe described later in detail.

The deposition source 110 that contains and heats the depositionmaterial 115 is disposed in an opposite side of the first chamber to aside in which the substrate 500 is disposed.

The deposition source 110 includes a crucible 112 that is filled withthe deposition material 115, and a cooling block 111 surrounding thecrucible 112. The cooling block 111 prevents radiation of heat from thecrucible 112 into outside areas such as, for example, the first chamber.The cooling block 111 may include a heater (not shown) that heats thecrucible 111.

The deposition source nozzle unit 120 is disposed at a side of thedeposition source 110, and in particular, at the side of the depositionsource 110 facing the substrate 500. The deposition source nozzle unit120 includes a plurality of deposition source nozzles 121 arranged atequal intervals in the X-axis direction. The deposition material 115that is vaporized in the deposition source 110 passes through thedeposition source nozzles 121 of the deposition source nozzle unit 120towards the substrate 500, which constitutes a target on which thedeposition material 115 is to be deposited.

The barrier plate assembly 130 is disposed at a side of the depositionsource nozzle unit 120. The barrier plate assembly 130 includes aplurality of barrier plates 131, and a barrier plate frame 132 thatcovers sides of the barrier plates 131. The plurality of barrier plates131 may be arranged parallel to each other at equal intervals in theX-axis direction. In addition, each of the barrier plates 131 may bearranged parallel to an YZ plane in FIG. 4, and may have a rectangularshape. The plurality of barrier plates 131 arranged as described abovepartition the space between the deposition source nozzle unit 120 andthe patterning slit sheet 150 into a plurality of sub-deposition spacesS (see FIG. 6). In the thin film deposition assembly 100 according tothe current embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG.6, the deposition space is divided by the barrier plates 131 into thesub-deposition spaces S that respectively correspond to the depositionsource nozzles 121 through which the deposition material 115 isdischarged.

The barrier plates 131 may be respectively disposed between adjacentdeposition source nozzles 121. In other words, each of the depositionsource nozzles 121 may be disposed between two adjacent barrier plates131. The deposition source nozzles 121 may be respectively located atthe midpoint between two adjacent barrier plates 131. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this structure. For example, aplurality of deposition source nozzles 121 may be disposed between twoadjacent barrier plates 131. In this case, the deposition source nozzles121 may be also respectively located at the midpoint between twoadjacent barrier plates 131.

As described above, since the barrier plates 131 partition the spacebetween the deposition source nozzle unit 120 and the patterning slitsheet 150 into the plurality of sub-deposition spaces S, the depositionmaterial 115 discharged through each of the deposition source nozzles121 is not mixed with the deposition material 115 discharged through theother deposition source nozzles slits 121, and passes through thepatterning slits 151 so as to be deposited on the substrate 500. Inother words, the barrier plates 131 guide the deposition material 115,which is discharged through the deposition source nozzles slits 121, tomove in a straight manner and not to scatter in the X-axis direction.

As described above, the deposition material 115 is forced to move in astraight manner by the presence of the barrier plates 131, so that asmaller shadow zone may be formed on the substrate 500 compared to acase where no barrier plates are installed. Thus, the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 and the substrate 400 can be separated from eachother by a predetermined distance. This will be described later indetail.

The barrier plate frame 132, which forms sides of the barrier plates131, maintains the positions of the barrier plates 131, and guides thedeposition material 115, which is discharged through the depositionsource nozzles 121, not to flow beyond the boundaries of the barrierplate assembly 130 in the Y-axis direction.

The deposition source nozzle unit 120 and the barrier plate assembly 130may be separated from each other by a predetermined distance. Thisseparation may prevent the heat radiated from the deposition source unit110 from being conducted to the barrier plate assembly 130. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this. For example, an appropriateheat insulator (not shown) may be further disposed between thedeposition source nozzle unit 120 and the barrier plate assembly 130. Inthis case, the deposition source nozzle unit 120 and the barrier plateassembly 130 may be bound together with the heat insulator therebetween.

In addition, the barrier plate assembly 130 may be constructed to bedetachable from the thin film deposition assembly 100. In the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 of the thin film deposition apparatus accordingto the current embodiment of the present invention, the deposition spaceis enclosed by using the barrier plate assembly 130, so that thedeposition material 115 that is not deposited on the substrate 500 ismostly deposited within the barrier plate assembly 130. Thus, since thebarrier plate assembly 130 is constructed to be detachable from the thinfilm deposition assembly 100, when a large amount of the depositionmaterial 115 is present on the barrier plate assembly 130 after a longdeposition process, the barrier plate assembly 130 may be detached fromthe thin film deposition assembly 100 and then placed in a separatedeposition material recycling apparatus in order to recover thedeposition material 115. Due to the structure of the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 according to the present embodiment, a reuserate of the deposition material 115 is increased, so that the depositionefficiency is improved, and thus, the manufacturing costs are reduced.

The patterning slit sheet 150 and a frame 155 in which the patterningslit sheet 150 is bound are disposed between the deposition source 110and the substrate 500. The frame 155 may be formed in a lattice shape,similar to a window frame. The patterning slit sheet 150 is bound insidethe frame 155. The patterning slit sheet 150 includes a plurality ofpatterning slits 151 arranged in the X-axis direction. The patterningslits 151 extend as openings in the Y-axis direction. The depositionmaterial 115 that has been vaporized in the deposition source 110 andthat has passed through the deposition source nozzle 121 passes throughthe patterning slits 151 towards the substrate 500.

The patterning slit sheet 150 may be formed of a metal thin film. Thepatterning slit sheet 150 is fixed to the frame 150 such that a tensileforce is exerted thereon. The patterning slits 151 may be formed byetching the patterning slit sheet 150 into a stripe pattern.

In the thin film deposition assembly 100 according to the currentembodiment of the present invention, the total number of patterningslits 151 may be greater than the total number of deposition sourcenozzles 121. In addition, there may be a greater number of patterningslits 151 than deposition source nozzles 121 disposed between twoadjacent barrier plates 131. The number of patterning slits 151 may beequal to the number of deposition patterns to be formed on the substrate500.

In addition, the barrier plate assembly 130 and the patterning slitsheet 150 may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other by apredetermined distance. Alternatively, the barrier plate assembly 130and the patterning slit sheet 150 may be connected by a connectionmember 135. The temperature of the barrier plate assembly 130 mayincrease to 100° C. or higher due to exposure to the deposition source110, which has a high temperature. Thus, in order to prevent the heat ofthe barrier plate assembly 130 from being conducted to the patterningslit sheet 150, the barrier plate assembly 130 and the patterning slitsheet 150 may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermineddistance.

As described above, the thin film deposition assembly 100 according tothe current embodiment of the present invention performs depositionwhile being moved relative to the substrate 500. In order for the thinfilm deposition assembly 100 to be moved relative to the substrate 500,the patterning slit sheet 150 is spaced apart from the substrate 500 bya predetermined distance. In addition, in order to prevent the formationof a relatively large shadow zone on the substrate 500 when thepatterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 400 are separated from eachother, the barrier plates 131 are arranged between the deposition sourcenozzle unit 120 and the patterning slit sheet 150 to force thedeposition material 115 to move in a straight direction. Thus, the sizeof the shadow zone that may be formed on the substrate 500 is sharplyreduced.

In a conventional deposition method using an FMM, deposition isperformed with the FMM in close contact with a substrate in order toprevent formation of a shadow zone on the substrate. However, when theFMM is used in close contact with the substrate, the contact may causedefects, such as scratches on patterns formed on the substrate. Inaddition, in the conventional deposition method, the size of the maskhas to be the same as the size of the substrate since the mask cannot bemoved relative to the substrate. Thus, the size of the mask has to beincreased as display devices become larger. However, it is not easy tomanufacture such a large mask.

In order to overcome this problem, in the thin film deposition assembly100 according to the current embodiment of the present invention, thepatterning slit sheet 150 is disposed to be separated from the substrate500 by a predetermined distance. Shadow zones on the substrate 500 areminimized by the presence of the barrier plates 131.

As described above, when the patterning slit sheet 150 is manufacturedto be smaller than the substrate 500, the patterning slit sheet 150 maybe moved relative to the substrate 500 during deposition. Thus, it is nolonger necessary to manufacture a large FMM as used in the conventionaldeposition method. In addition, since the substrate 500 and thepatterning slit sheet 150 are separated from each other, defects causeddue to contact between the substrate 500 and the patterning slit sheet150 may be prevented. In addition, since it is unnecessary to contactthe substrate 500 with the patterning slit sheet 150 during a depositionprocess, the manufacturing speed may be improved.

According to aspects of the present invention, thin film depositionassemblies 200, 300 and 400 may have the same structure as the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 described above. Moreover, It is to beunderstood that the thin film deposition assemblies 100, 200, 300 and400 may vary from what is described above.

Hereinafter, an interval control member and an alignment control member,which may be used to obtain sufficient alignment precision and intervalprecision between the patterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 500 inthe thin film deposition assembly 100 according to the currentembodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

As described above, in the thin film deposition assembly 100 accordingto the current embodiment of the present invention, the patterning slitsheet 150 is separated from the substrate 500 by a predetermineddistance in the Z-axis direction, and deposition is performed while thepatterning slit sheet 150 is moved relative to the substrate 500 in theY-axis direction. However, in order to form a precise thin film patternwhile moving the patterning slit sheet 150, positional precision betweenthe patterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 500 is very significant.In addition, a pattern position may be shifted if the distance betweenthe patterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 500 varies. Thus, thedistance between the patterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 500should be maintained as constant as possible, for example, at 100 μm. Tothis end, the thin film deposition assembly 100 may include a positiondetection member and an alignment control member. Thus, positions of thepatterning slit sheet 150 and the substrate 500 may be accuratelydetected, and thus be aligned with each other.

The thin film deposition assembly 100, which includes, as illustrated inFIGS. 4 through 6, the camera 170 and the focus control member 180,accurately detects the distance between the thin film depositionassembly 100 and the substrate 500 by using the camera 170 and the focuscontrol member 180.

In particular, the camera 170 detects in real-time a first alignmentmark 159 formed on the frame 155 and a second alignment mark 501 (seeFIG. 7) formed on a rear surface of the substrate 500. As used herein,the terms “rear surface of the substrate 500” and ‘rear surface of thepatterned slit sheet 150 refer to a surface of the substrate 500 orpatterned slit sheet that faces the thin film deposition assembly 100.The camera 170 is mounted in such a way that its optical path to theframe 155 or the substrate 500 is not obstructed during deposition.

FIG. 7 illustrates rear surfaces of the substrate 500 and the patterningslit sheet 150, and the second alignment mark 501 on the rear surface ofthe substrate 500. Referring to FIG. 7, the second alignment mark 501 isprovided as a plurality of stripes extending along edges of the rearsurface of the substrate 500. The second alignment mark 501 is formedparallel to a direction in which the substrate 500 is moved, i.e., adirection Y of FIG. 7, and aligned with the first alignment mark 159 ofthe frame 155. In other words, the camera 170 detects the secondalignment mark 501 of the substrate 500 through the first alignment mark159 formed on the frame 155.

The reason for implementing the second alignment mark 501 as stripes isas follows. In general thin film deposition apparatuses, a circle, across, a rectangular and the like have been used as alignment marks.These marks may be used to effectively align a fixed substrate. However,these marks are not suitable for aligning a moving substrate, as usedaccording to aspects of the present invention, since images of thepatterns obtained by the camera 170 do not remain consistent for use inalignment when the substrate moves. Thus, according to aspects of thepresent invention, a simple stripe pattern is used as an alignment mark,so that consistent images of the pattern may be obtained by the camera170 while the substrate 500 with the pattern is moved, therebyimplementing real-time alignment between the moving substrate 500 andthe patterning slit sheet 150.

In addition, according to aspects of the present invention, since thesubstrate 500 and the patterning slit sheet 150 are separated from eachother by a predetermined distance, the distance to the substrate 500 andto the patterning slit sheet 150 may be measured using one camera 170,as follows.

Initially, the focus control member 180 is disposed between the camera170 and the substrate 500 (see FIGS. 4, 8 and 9). The focus controlmember 180 is formed in a substantially flat, circular shape and has afirst hole 181 and a second hole 182. The first hole 181 remainsunfilled, and the second hole 182 is filled with a transparent material,such as glass. Regions of the focus control member 180 in which thefirst hole 181 and the second hole 182 are respectively formed havedifferent refractive indices. The focus control member 180 is disposedto be rotatable in a direction R of FIG. 8.

Thus, since the focus control member 180 rotates, the camera 170 mayhave a different focal distance according to whether the first hole 181or the second hole 182 of the focus control member 180 is positioned tooverlap the camera 170. The difference in focal distance is attributedto the fact that air that fills the void of the first hole 181 and thetransparent material, such as glass, that fills the second hole havedifferent refractive indices.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, when the first hole 181 islocated to be aligned with the camera 170, a focal point of the camera170 may be on the substrate 500, so that the distance between the camera170 and the substrate 500 may be measured. On the other hand, asillustrated in FIG. 9, when the second hole 182 is located to be alignedwith the camera 170, the focal point of the camera 170 may be on thepatterning slit sheet 150, so that the distance between the camera 170and the patterning slit sheet 150 may be measured.

Alternatively, although not illustrated, the camera 170 may take animage while moving along its optical axis. In other words, the camera170 may take an image while moving in the directions indicated by thearrow M in FIG. 6. In this case, when the camera 170 moves close to thesubstrate 500, the focal point of the camera 170 may be on the substrate500, so that the distance between the camera 170 and the substrate 500may be measured. On the other hand, when the camera 170 is moved awayfrom the substrate 500, the focal point of the camera 170 may be on thepatterning slit sheet 150, so that the distance between the camera 170and the patterning slit sheet 150 may be measured.

As described above, as the focus control member 180 rotates, thedistance between the camera 170 and the substrate 500, and the distancebetween the camera 170 and the patterning slit sheet 150 may bealternately measured. Thus, the distance between the patterning slitsheet 150 and the substrate 500 may be measured in real-time based onthese distances.

In addition, in order to measure a tilt angle of a deposition surface ofthe substrate 500 with respect to an XY plane, as illustrated in FIGS. 4and 10, the thin film deposition assembly 100 may further include thelaser irradiation member 190 that is disposed on the substrate 500 or onthe electrostatic chuck 600. A first measurement member 191 and a secondmeasurement member 192 may be further disposed in the chamber (notshown). The first measurement member 191 and the second measurementmember 192 may be coaxially disposed with the laser irradiation member190. Each of the first measurement member 191 and the second measurementmember 192 may have a third alignment mark in a cross shape. Forexample, reference numeral 192 a in FIG. 4 denotes the third alignmentmark of the second measurement member 192. While the substrate 500 ismoved in a direction of arrow A in FIG. 4, the laser irradiation member190 irradiates laser beams L1 and L2 toward the first measurement member191 and the second measurement member 192, respectively, and the firstmeasurement member 191 and the second measurement member 192 detect thelaser beams L1 and L2, respectively. Detection positions of the laserbeams L1 and L2 on the respective third alignment marks 192 a of thefirst and second measurement members 191 and 192 are used to measure thetilt angle of the substrate 500 with respect to the XY plane. Forexample, the tilt angle of the substrate 500 with respect to the XYplane may be measured using a distance d1 between a center of the thirdalignment mark (not shown) of the first measurement 191 and thedetection position of the laser beam L1 on the third alignment mark, anda distance d2 between a center of the third alignment mark 192 a (seeFIG. 4) of the second measurement member 192 and the detection positionof the laser beam L2 on the second measurement member 192, asillustrated in FIG. 10.

Although two measurement members, i.e., the first measurement member 191and the second measurement member 192, are illustrated in FIG. 10, thepresent invention is not limited to this structure. For example, atleast one measurement member may be disposed according to systemrequirements. However, at the beginning stage of deposition, thesubstrate 500 is moved by a short distance and may be too close to thefirst measurement unit 191, so that the distance measured by the firstmeasurement unit 191 may be less accurate. At the end stage ofdeposition, the substrate 500 may become too close to the secondmeasurement member 192, so that the distance measured by the secondmeasurement unit 192 may be less accurate. Thus, at least onemeasurement member may be additionally disposed each of at entrance andexit sides of the chamber to improve reliability of the measurementthroughout the entire chamber.

A plurality of cameras may be provided to assist in the alignment of thepatterning slit sheet 150 of the thin film deposition assembly 100 andthe substrate 500. FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary arrangement ofcameras for real-time alignment of the thin film deposition assembly 100and the substrate 500.

In order to align the thin film deposition assembly 100 and thesubstrate 500 in real-time, as illustrated in FIG. 11, at least sevenhorizontal-alignment (parallel to XY-plane in this instance) cameras 171a, 171 b, 171 c, 171 d, 171 e, 171 f, and 171 g, and at least sevenvertical-alignment (perpendicular to XY-plane in this instance) cameras172 a, 172 b, 172 c, 172 d, 172 e, 172 f and 172 g may be used for thefollowing reasons.

In order to accurately measure an instantaneous horizontal position ofthe substrate 500, three horizontal-alignment cameras are desirable,because a plane can be defined by at least three points. For the samereason, three vertical-alignment cameras are desirable in order toaccurately measure an instantaneous vertical position of the substrate500. Thus, a total of six cameras, including three horizontal-alignmentcameras and three vertical-alignment cameras, are desirable in order toaccurately measure an instantaneous position of the substrate 500 inthree dimensions.

In particular, the three horizontal-alignment cameras 171 a, 171 b and171 c and the three vertical-alignment cameras 172 a, 172 b and 172 cmay be used to accurately measure an instantaneous 3-dimensionalposition of the substrate 500 when a leading edge portion of thesubstrate 500 starts to pass the thin film deposition assembly 100. Thethree horizontal-alignment cameras 171 c, 171 d and 171 e and the threevertical-alignment cameras 172 c, 172 d and 172 e may be used toaccurately measure an instantaneous 3-dimensional position of thesubstrate 500 when the substrate 500 is aligned with the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 in the middle of the chamber. In addition, thethree horizontal-alignment cameras 171 e, 1711 and 171 g and the threevertical-alignment cameras 172 e, 172 f and 172 g may be used toaccurately measure an instantaneous 3-dimensional portion of thesubstrate when a tailing edge portion of the substrate 500 passes thethin film deposition assembly 100.

In particular, the horizontal-alignment camera 171 c and thevertical-alignment camera 172 c that are disposed to overlap a frontedge portion of the patterning slit sheet 150 of the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 may be used to take an image of the substrate500 both when the leading edge portion of the substrate 500 starts topass the thin film deposition assembly 100 and when the substrate 500aligns with the thin film deposition assembly 100 in the middle of thechamber. In addition, the horizontal-alignment camera 171 e and thevertical-alignment camera 172 e that are disposed to overlap a rear edgeportion of the patterning slit sheet 150 of the thin film depositionassembly 100 may be used to take an image of the substrate 500 both whenthe substrate 500 aligns with the thin film deposition assembly 100 andwhen the tailing edge portion of the substrate 500 completely passes bythe thin film deposition assembly 100.

Due to the structure described above, the substrate 500 may be alignedwith the thin film deposition apparatus 100 using a minimum number ofcameras, so that the manufacturing costs may be reduced, and adeposition apparatus may have a simplified structure.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate exemplary arrangements of actuators forreal-time alignment of the substrate 500 and the thin film depositionassembly in the thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1. Referring toFIG. 12, at least two first actuators 195 a and 195 b may be used tocorrect tilting of the patterning slit sheet 150 in a direction (i.e.,the X-axis direction) perpendicular to the Y-axis direction in which inwhich the substrate 500 is moved. In addition, referring to FIG. 13, atleast three second actuators 197 a, 197 b and 197 c may be used tocorrect tilting of the patterning slit sheet 150 in a direction (i.e.,the Z-axis direction of FIG. 4) perpendicular to the deposition surfaceof the substrate 500. Since the substrate 500 may be preciselytransferred using a linear motion (LM) system that includes a LM railand a LM block, tilting of the patterning slit sheet 150 in thedirection in which the substrate 500 is moved, i.e., in the Y-axisdirection, is typically not necessary.

In particular, the two first actuators 195 a and 195 b may be driven inthe same direction to move the patterning slit sheet 150 in the X-axisdirection. The first actuators 195 a and 195 b may be driven in oppositedirections to rotate the patterning slit sheet 150 on an XY planeparallel to the deposition surface of the substrate 500.

In addition, the three second actuators 197 a, 197 b and 197 c may bedriven in the same direction to move the patterning slit sheet 150 inthe Z-axis direction (see FIG. 4). In addition, the second actuators 197a, 197 b and 197 c may be driven in different directions to rotate thepatterning slit sheet 150 around a central axis thereof parallel to theX-axis direction or the Y-axis direction.

Due to the structure described above, tilting of the substrate 500 maybe corrected using a minimum number of actuators.

In the above description, it is to be understood that in addition or inthe alternative, actuators similar to the first actuators 195 a and 195b and the second actuators 197 a, 197 b and 197 c may be disposed tocorrect the alignment of the substrate 500 and the thin film depositionapparatus 100 by moving the substrate 500. In more detail, FIGS. 20 and21 illustrate exemplary arrangements of actuators for real-timealignment of the substrate 500 and the thin film deposition assembly inthe thin film deposition apparatus of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 20, atleast two first actuators 295 a and 295 b may be used to correct tiltingof the substrate 500 in a direction (i.e., the X-axis direction)perpendicular to the Y-axis direction in which in which the substrate500 is moved. In addition, referring to FIG. 21, at least three secondactuators 297 a, 297 b and 297 c may be used to correct tilting of thesubstrate 500 in a direction (i.e., the Z-axis direction of FIG. 4)perpendicular to the deposition surface of the substrate 500. Since thesubstrate 500 may be precisely transferred using a linear motion (LM)system that includes a LM rail and a LM block, tilting of the substrate500 in the direction in which the substrate 500 is moved, i.e., in theY-axis direction, is typically not necessary.

In particular, the two first actuators 295 a and 295 b may be driven inthe same direction to move the substrate 500 in the X-axis direction.The first actuators 295 a and 295 b may be driven in opposite directionsto rotate the substrate 500 on an XY plane parallel to the depositionsurface of the substrate 500.

In addition, the three second actuators 297 a, 297 b and 297 c may bedriven in the same direction to move the substrate 500 in the Z-axisdirection (see FIG. 4). In addition, the second actuators 297 a, 297 band 297 c may be driven in different directions to rotate the substrate500 around a central axis thereof parallel to the X-axis direction orthe Y-axis direction.

Due to the structure described above, tilting of the substrate 500 maybe corrected using a minimum number of actuators.

FIG. 14 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 14, the thin film deposition assembly 100 according tothe current embodiment of the present invention includes a depositionsource 110, a deposition source nozzle unit 120, a first barrier plateassembly 130, a second barrier plate assembly 140, and a patterning slitsheet 150.

Although a chamber is not illustrated in FIG. 14 for convenience ofexplanation, all the components of the thin film deposition assembly 100may be disposed within a chamber that is maintained at an appropriatedegree of vacuum, such as, for example, the first vacuum chamber 731 orthe second vacuum chamber 732 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The chamber ismaintained at an appropriate vacuum in order to allow a depositionmaterial to move in a substantially straight line through the thin filmdeposition apparatus 100.

The substrate 500, which constitutes a deposition target on which adeposition material 115 is to be deposited, is disposed in the chamber.The deposition source 110 that contains and heats the depositionmaterial 115 is disposed in an opposite side of the chamber to a side inwhich the substrate 500 is disposed.

Structures of the deposition source 110 and the patterning slit sheet150 are the same as those in the embodiment described with reference toFIG. 4, and thus a detailed description thereof will not be repeatedhere. The first barrier plate assembly 130 is also the same as thebarrier plate assembly 130 of the embodiment described with reference toFIG. 4, and thus a detailed description thereof will not be repeatedhere.

The second barrier plate assembly 140 is disposed at a side of the firstbarrier plate assembly 130. The second barrier plate assembly 140includes a plurality of second barrier plates 141, and a second barrierplate frame 142 that covers sides of the second barrier plates 141.

The plurality of second barrier plates 141 may be arranged parallel toeach other at equal intervals in the X-axis direction. In addition, eachof the second barrier plates 141 may be formed to extend parallel to theYZ plane in FIG. 10, i.e., perpendicular to the X-axis direction.

The plurality of first barrier plates 131 and second barrier plates 141arranged as described above partition the space between the depositionsource nozzle unit 120 and the patterning slit sheet 150. The depositionspace is divided by the first barrier plates 131 and the second barrierplates 141 into sub-deposition spaces that respectively correspond tothe deposition source nozzles 121 through which the deposition material115 is discharged.

The second barrier plates 141 may be disposed to correspond respectivelyto the first barrier plates 131. In other words, the second barrierplates 141 may be respectively disposed to be parallel to and to be onthe same plane as the first barrier plates 131. Each pair of thecorresponding first and second barrier plates 131 and 141 may be locatedon the same plane. Although the first barrier plates 131 and the secondbarrier plates 141 are respectively illustrated as having the samethickness in the X-axis direction, aspects of the present invention arenot limited thereto. In other words, the second barrier plates 141,which may need to be accurately aligned with the patterning slits 151,may be formed to be relatively thin, whereas the first barrier plates131, which do not need to be precisely aligned with the patterning slits151, may be formed to be relatively thick. This makes it easier tomanufacture the thin film deposition assembly.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of thin film depositionassemblies, which each have the same structure as the thin filmdeposition assembly 100 of FIG. 14 described above, may be successivelydisposed in the first chamber 731. In this case, the thin filmdeposition assemblies 100, 200, 300 and 400 may be used to depositdifferent deposition materials, respectively. For example, the thin filmdeposition assemblies 100, 200, 300 and 400 may have differentpatterning slit patterns, so that pixels of different colors, forexample, red, green and blue, may be simultaneously defined through afilm deposition process.

The thin film deposition assembly 100 according to the currentembodiment may also further include a position detection memberincluding a camera 170, a focus control member 180 and a laserirradiation member 190, and an alignment control member including anactuator (see FIGS. 12 and 13), and thus the substrate 500 may beaccurately and easily aligned with the thin film deposition assembly100. This structure is described in the previous embodiment, and adetailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

FIG. 15 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionassembly 900 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 15, the thin film deposition assembly 900 according tothe current embodiment includes a deposition source 910, a depositionsource nozzle unit 920, and a patterning slit sheet 950.

Although a chamber is not illustrated in FIG. 15 for convenience ofexplanation, all the components of the thin film deposition assembly 900may be disposed within a chamber that is maintained at an appropriatedegree of vacuum, such as, for example, the first vacuum chamber 731 orthe second vacuum chamber 732 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The chamber ismaintained at an appropriate vacuum in order to allow a depositionmaterial to move in a substantially straight line through the thin filmdeposition apparatus 100.

The substrate 500, which constitutes a deposition target on which adeposition material 915 is to be deposited, is transferred by anelectrostatic chuck 600 in the chamber. The substrate 500 may be asubstrate for flat panel displays. A large substrate, such as a motherglass, for manufacturing a plurality of fiat panel displays, may be usedas the substrate 500. Other substrates may also be employed.

In the current embodiment of the present invention, deposition may beperformed while the substrate 500 and the thin film deposition assembly900 are moved relative to each other. In particular, deposition may becontinuously performed while the substrate 500, which is disposed suchas to face the thin film deposition assembly 900, is moved in a Y-axisdirection. In other words, deposition may be performed in a scanningmanner while the substrate 500 is moved in a direction of arrow A inFIG. 15. Although the substrate 500 is illustrated as being moved in theY-axis direction of the chamber in FIG. 15 when deposition is performed,the present invention is not limited thereto. Deposition may beperformed while the thin film deposition assembly 900 is moved in theY-axis direction, while the substrate 500 is held in a fixed position.

Thus, in the thin film deposition assembly 900 according to the currentembodiment of the present invention, the patterning slit sheet 950 maybe significantly smaller than an FMM used in a conventional depositionmethod. In other words, in the thin film deposition assembly 900according to the current embodiment of the present invention, depositionis continuously performed, i.e., in a scanning manner while thesubstrate 500 is moved in the Y-axis direction. Thus, lengths of thepatterning slit sheet 950 in the X-axis and Y-axis directions may besignificantly less than the lengths of the substrate 500 in the X-axisand Y-axis directions. As described above, since the patterning slitsheet 950 may be formed to be significantly smaller than an FMM used ina conventional deposition method, it is relatively easy to manufacturethe patterning slit sheet 950 used in aspects of the present invention.In other words, using the patterning slit sheet 950, which is smallerthan an FMM used in a conventional deposition method, is more convenientin all processes, including etching and subsequent other processes, suchas precise extension, welding, moving, and cleaning processes, comparedto the conventional deposition method using the larger FMM. This is moreadvantageous for a relatively large display device.

In order to perform deposition while the thin film deposition assembly900 and the substrate 500 are moved relative to each other as describedabove, the thin film deposition assembly 900 and the substrate 500 maybe spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. This willbe described later in detail.

The deposition source 910 that contains and heats the depositionmaterial 915 is disposed in an opposite side of the chamber to a side inwhich the substrate 500 is disposed. After being vaporized in thedeposition source 910, the deposition material 115 is deposited on thesubstrate 500.

in particular, the deposition source 910 includes a crucible 911 that isfilled with the deposition material 915, and a heater 911 that heats thecrucible 911 to vaporize the deposition material 915, which is containedin the crucible 911, towards a side of the crucible 912, and inparticular, towards the deposition source nozzle unit 920.

The deposition source nozzle unit 920 is disposed at a side of thedeposition source 910, and in particular, at the side of the depositionsource 910 facing the substrate 500. The deposition source nozzle unit920 includes a plurality of deposition source nozzles 921 arranged atequal intervals in the Y-axis direction, i.e., a scanning direction ofthe substrate 500. The deposition material 915 that is vaporized in thedeposition source 910, passes through the deposition source nozzle unit920 towards the substrate 500. As described above, when the depositionsource nozzle unit 920 includes the plurality of deposition sourcenozzles 921 arranged in the Y-axis direction, that is, the scanningdirection of the substrate 500, the size of a pattern formed of thedeposition material discharged through the patterning slits 950 of thepatterning slit sheet 951 is affected by the size of one of thedeposition source nozzles 921 (since there is only one line ofdeposition nozzles in the X-axis direction), and thus no shadow zone maybe formed on the substrate 500. In addition, since the plurality ofdeposition source nozzles 921 are arranged in the scanning direction ofthe substrate 400, even there is a difference in flux between thedeposition source nozzles 921, the difference may be compensated for anddeposition uniformity may be maintained constant.

The patterning slit sheet 950 and a frame 955 in which the patterningslit sheet 950 is bound are disposed between the deposition source 910and the substrate 500. The frame 955 may be formed in a lattice shape,similar to a window frame. The patterning slit sheet 950 is bound insidethe frame 955. The patterning slit sheet 950 includes a plurality ofpatterning slits 951 arranged in the X-axis direction. The depositionmaterial 915 that is vaporized in the deposition source 910, passesthrough the deposition source nozzle unit 920 and the patterning slitsheet 950 towards the substrate 500. The patterning slit sheet 950 maybe manufactured by etching, which is the same method as used in aconventional method of manufacturing an FMM, and in particular, astriped FMM. In this regard, the total number of patterning slits 951may be greater than the total number of deposition source nozzles 921.

In addition, the deposition source 910 and the deposition source nozzleunit 920 coupled to the deposition source 910 may be disposed to beseparated from the patterning slit sheet 950 by a predetermineddistance. Alternatively, the deposition source 910 and the depositionsource nozzle unit 920 coupled to the deposition source 910 may beconnected to the patterning slit sheet 950 by a connection member 935.That is, the deposition source 910, the deposition source nozzle unit920, and the patterning slit sheet 950 may be integrally formed as onebody by being connected to each other via the connection member 935. Theconnection member 935 guides the deposition material 915, which isdischarged through the deposition source nozzles 921, to move straight,not to deviate in the X-axis direction. In FIG. 15, the connectionmembers 935 are formed on left and right sides of the deposition source910, the deposition source nozzle unit 920, and the patterning slitsheet 950 to guide the deposition material 915 not to flow in the X-axisdirection; however, aspects of the present invention are not limitedthereto. That is, the connection member 935 may be formed as a sealedbox to guide flow of the deposition material 915 in both the X-axis andY-axis directions.

As described above, the thin film deposition assembly 900 according tothe current embodiment of the present invention performs depositionwhile being moved relative to the substrate 500. In order to move thethin film deposition assembly 900 relative to the substrate 500, thepatterning slit sheet 950 is spaced apart from the substrate 500 by apredetermined distance.

in particular, in a conventional deposition method using an FMM,deposition is performed with the FMM in close contact with a substratein order to prevent formation of a shadow zone on the substrate.However, when the FMM is used in close contact with the substrate, thecontact may cause defects. In addition, in the conventional depositionmethod, the mask has to be the same size as the substrate since the maskcannot be moved relative to the substrate. Thus, the size of the maskhas to be increased when a larger display device is produced. However,it is not easy to manufacture such a large mask.

In order to overcome this problem, in the thin film deposition assembly900 according to the current embodiment of the present invention, thepatterning slit sheet 950 is disposed to be separated from the substrate500 by a predetermined distance.

As described above, according to aspects of the present invention, amask is formed to be smaller than a substrate, and deposition isperformed while the mask is moved relative to the substrate. Thus, themask can be easily manufactured. In addition, defects caused due to thecontact between a substrate and an FMM, which occur in the conventionaldeposition method, may be prevented. In addition, since it isunnecessary to use the FMM in close contact with the substrate during adeposition process, the manufacturing time may be reduced.

The thin film deposition assembly 900 according to the currentembodiment may also further include a position detection memberincluding a camera 170, a focus control member 180 and a laserirradiation member 190, and an alignment control member including anactuator (see FIGS. 12 and 13), and thus the substrate 500 may beaccurately and easily aligned with the thin film deposition assembly900. This structure is described in the embodiment described above withreference to FIG. 4, and a detailed description thereof will not berepeated here.

FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a thin film depositionapparatus 900 according to another embodiment of the present invention.Referring to FIG. 9, the thin film deposition apparatus 900 according tothe current embodiment includes a deposition source 910, a depositionsource nozzle unit 920, and a patterning slit sheet 950. In particular,the deposition source 910 includes a crucible 911 that is filled withthe deposition material 915, and a heater 911 that heats the crucible911 to vaporize the deposition material 915, which is contained in thecrucible 912, towards a side of the crucible 911 towards the depositionsource nozzle unit 920. The deposition source nozzle unit 920, which hasa planar shape, is disposed at a side of the deposition source 910. Thedeposition source nozzle unit 920 includes a plurality of depositionsource nozzles 921 arranged in the Y-axis direction. The patterning slitsheet 950 and a frame 955 are further disposed between the depositionsource 910 and the substrate 500. The patterning slit sheet 950 includesa plurality of patterning slits 951 arranged in the X-axis direction. Inaddition, the deposition source 910 and the deposition source nozzleunit 920 may be connected to the patterning slit sheet 950 by theconnection member 935.

In the current embodiment, a plurality of deposition source nozzles 921formed in the deposition source nozzle unit 920 are tilted at apredetermined angle, unlike the embodiment described with reference toFIG. 15. In particular, the deposition source nozzles 921 may includedeposition source nozzles 921 a and 921 b arranged in respective rows.The deposition source nozzles 921 a and 921 b may be arranged inrespective rows to alternate in a zigzag pattern. The deposition sourcenozzles 921 a and 921 b may be tilted by a predetermined angle withrespect to an XZ plane.

Therefore, in the current embodiment of the present invention, thedeposition source nozzles 921 a and 921 b are arranged to tilt by apredetermined angle to each other. For example, the deposition sourcenozzles 921 a of a first row and the deposition source nozzles 921 b ofa second row may tilt at the predetermined angle to face each other.That is, the deposition source nozzles 921 a of the first row in a leftpart of the deposition source nozzle unit 920 may tilt to face a rightside portion of the patterning slit sheet 950, and the deposition sourcenozzles 921 b of the second row in a right part of the deposition sourcenozzle unit 920 may tilt to face a left side portion of the patterningslit sheet 950.

FIG. 17 is a graph showing a distribution of a deposition film formed onthe substrate 500 when the deposition source nozzles 921 a and 921 b arenot tilted, in the thin film deposition assembly 900 according to thecurrent embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 18 is a graphshowing a distribution of a deposition film formed on the substrate 500when the deposition source nozzles 921 a and 921 b are tilted, in thethin film deposition assembly 900. Comparing the graphs of FIGS. 17 and18 with each other, thickness of the deposition film formed on oppositeend portions of the substrate 500 when the deposition source nozzles 921a and 921 b are tilted is relatively greater than that of the depositionfilm formed on the substrate 500 when the deposition source nozzles 921a and 921 b are not tilted, and thus, the uniformity of the depositionfilm is improved.

Due to the structure of the thin film deposition assembly 900 accordingto the current embodiment, the deposition of the deposition material 915may be adjusted to lessen a thickness variation between the center andthe end portions of the substrate 500 and improve thickness uniformityof the deposition film. Moreover, utilization efficiency of thedeposition material 915 may also be improved.

The thin film deposition assembly 900 according to the currentembodiment may also further include a position detection memberincluding a camera 170, a focus control member 180 and a laserirradiation member 190, and an alignment control member including anactuator (see FIGS. 12 and 13), and thus the substrate 500 may beaccurately and easily aligned with the thin film deposition assembly900. This structure is described in the embodiment with reference toFIG. 4, and a detailed description thereof will not be repeated here.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an active matrix organiclight-emitting display device fabricated by using a thin film depositionapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is tobe understood that where is stated herein that one layer is “formed on”or “disposed on” a second layer, the first layer may be formed ordisposed directly on the second layer or there may be intervening layersbetween the first layer and the second layer. Further, as used herein,the term “formed on” is used with the same meaning as “located on” or“disposed on” and is not meant to be limiting regarding any particularfabrication process.

Referring to FIG. 19, the active matrix organic light-emitting displaydevice according to the current embodiment is formed on a substrate 30.The substrate 30 may be formed of a transparent material, such as, forexample, glass, plastic or metal. An insulating layer 31, such as abuffer layer, is formed on an entire surface of the substrate 30.

A thin film transistor (TFT) 40, a capacitor 50, and an organiclight-emitting diode (OLED) are disposed on the insulating layer 31, asillustrated in FIG. 19.

A semiconductor active layer 41 is formed on an upper surface of theinsulating layer 31 in a predetermined pattern. A gate insulating layer32 is formed to cover the semiconductor active layer 41. Thesemiconductor active layer 41 may include a p-type or n-typesemiconductor material.

A gate electrode 42 of the TFT 40 is formed in a region of the gateinsulating layer 32 corresponding to the semiconductor active layer 41.An interlayer insulating layer 33 is formed to cover the gate electrode42. The interlayer insulating layer 33 and the gate insulating layer 32are etched by, for example, dry etching, to form a contact hole exposingparts of the semiconductor active layer 41.

A source/drain electrode 43 is formed on the interlayer insulating layer33 to contact the semiconductor active layer 41 through the contacthole. A passivation layer 34 is formed to cover the source/drainelectrode 43, and is etched to expose a part of the drain electrode 43.An insulating layer (not shown) may be further formed on the passivationlayer 34 so as to planarize the passivation layer 34.

In addition, the OLED 60 displays predetermined image information byemitting red, green, or blue light according to a flow of current. TheOLED 60 includes a first electrode 61 disposed on the passivation layer34. The first electrode 61 is electrically connected to the drainelectrode 43 of the TFT 40.

A pixel defining layer 35 is formed to cover the first electrode 61. Anopening 64 is formed in the pixel defining layer 35, and an organicemission layer 63 is formed in a region defined by the opening 64. Asecond electrode 62 is formed on the organic emission layer 63.

The pixel defining layer 35, which defines individual pixels, is formedof an organic material. The pixel defining layer 35 also planarizes thesurface of a region of the substrate 30 in which the first electrode 61is formed, and in particular, the surface of the passivation layer 34.

The first electrode 61 and the second electrode 62 are insulated fromeach other, and respectively apply voltages of opposite polarities tothe organic emission layer 63 to induce light emission.

The organic emission layer 63 may be formed of a low-molecular weightorganic material or a high-molecular weight organic material. When alow-molecular weight organic material is used, the organic emissionlayer 63 may have a single or multi-layer structure including at leastone selected from the group consisting of a hole injection layer (HIL),a hole transport layer (HTL), an emission layer (EML), an electrontransport layer (ETL), and an electron injection layer (EIL). Examplesof available organic materials may include copper phthalocyanine (CuPc),N,N′-di(naphthalene-1-yl)-N,N′-diphenyl-benzidine (NPB),tris-8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum (Alq3), and the like. Such alow-molecular weight organic material may be deposited using vacuumdeposition by using one of the thin film deposition apparatusesdescribed above with reference to FIG. 4.

After the organic emission layer 63 is formed, the second electrode 62may be formed by the same deposition method as used to form the organicemission layer 63.

The first electrode 61 may function as an anode, and the secondelectrode 62 may function as a cathode. Alternatively, the firstelectrode 61 may function as a cathode, and the second electrode 62 mayfunction as an anode. The first electrode 61 may be patterned tocorrespond to individual pixel regions, and the second electrode 62 maybe formed as a common electrode to cover all the pixels.

The first electrode 61 may be formed as a transparent electrode or areflective electrode. Such a transparent electrode may be formed ofindium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), orindium oxide (In₂O₃). Such a reflective electrode may be formed byforming a reflective layer from silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), aluminum(Al), platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), nickel (Ni), neodymium(Nd), iridium (Ir), chromium (Cr) or a compound thereof and forming alayer of ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In₂O₃ on the reflective layer. The firstelectrode 61 may be formed by forming a layer by, for example,sputtering, and then patterning the layer by, for example,photolithography.

The second electrode 62 may also be formed as a transparent electrode ora reflective electrode. When the second electrode 62 is formed as atransparent electrode, the second electrode 62 functions as a cathode.To this end, such a transparent electrode may be formed by depositing ametal having a low work function, such as lithium (Li), calcium (Ca),lithium fluoride/calcium (LiF/Ca), lithium fluoride/aluminum (LiF/Al),aluminum (Al), silver (Ag), magnesium (Mg), or a compound thereof on asurface of the organic emission layer 63 and forming an auxiliaryelectrode layer or a bus electrode line thereon from ITO, IZO, ZnO,In₂O₃, or the like. When the second electrode 62 is formed as areflective electrode, the reflective layer may be formed by depositingLi, Ca, LiF/Ca, LiF/Al, Al, Ag, Mg, or a compound thereof on the entiresurface of the organic emission layer 63. The second electrode 62 may beformed by using the same deposition method as used to form the organicemission layer 63 described above.

The thin film deposition apparatuses according to the embodiments of thepresent invention described above may be applied to form an organiclayer or an inorganic layer of an organic TFT, and to form layers fromvarious materials. In particular, the thin film deposition assembliesaccording to the embodiments of the present invention may be used toform one or more layers of an active matrix (AM) organic light-emittingdisplay device. It is to be understood that the active matrix (AM)organic light-emitting display device may vary from what is describedabove.

As described above, the thin film deposition apparatus according toaspects of the present invention may be easily manufactured and may besimply applied to produce large-sized display devices on a mass scale.The thin film deposition apparatus may improve manufacturing yield anddeposition efficiency and may allow deposition materials to be reused.

Although a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art thatchanges may be made in this embodiment without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined inthe claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thin film deposition apparatus to form a thinfilm on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a deposition source thatdischarges a deposition material; a deposition source nozzle unitdisposed at a side of the deposition source and including a plurality ofdeposition source nozzles arranged in a first direction; a patterningslit sheet disposed opposite to and spaced apart from the depositionsource nozzle unit and including a plurality of patterning slitsarranged in the first direction; a position detection member comprisinga camera that detects a relative position of the substrate to thepatterning slit sheet; an alignment control member that controls arelative position of the patterning slit sheet to the substrate by usingthe relative position of the substrate detected by the positiondetection member; and a focus control member disposed between the cameraand the patterning slit sheet to control a focal point of the camera toalternatively be on the substrate and the patterning slit sheet, whereinthe thin film deposition apparatus and the substrate are spaced apartfrom each other, and the thin film deposition apparatus and thesubstrate are moved relative to each other.
 2. The thin film depositionapparatus of claim 1, wherein the patterning slit sheet comprises afirst alignment mark, and wherein the camera takes images of the firstalignment mark and a second alignment mark on the substrate.
 3. The thinfilm deposition apparatus of claim 2, wherein the second alignment markcomprises at least one stripe that is substantially parallel to adirection in which the substrate is moved.
 4. The thin film depositionapparatus of claim 1, wherein the focus control member is disposed to berotatable, and comprises a first hole and a second hole that havedifferent refractive indices.
 5. The thin film deposition apparatus ofclaim 4, wherein one of the first hole and the second hole is filledwith a transparent material.
 6. The thin film deposition apparatus ofclaim 4, wherein the focus control member is disposed in such a way thatthe first hole and the second hole alternate on an optical axis of thecamera.
 7. The thin film deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein theposition detection member further comprises: a laser irradiation memberthat irradiates a laser beam in a direction substantially parallel to adirection in which the substrate is moved; and at least one measurementmember coaxially disposed with the laser beam irradiated from the laserirradiation member and comprising a third alignment mark.
 8. The thinfilm deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the alignment controlmember comprises at least two first actuators providing a predetermineddriving force to move the patterning slit sheet relative to thesubstrate in the first direction.
 9. The thin film deposition apparatusof claim 1, wherein the alignment control member comprises at leastthree second actuators providing a predetermined driving force to movethe patterning slit sheet relative to the substrate in a directionperpendicular to a deposition surface of the substrate.
 10. The thinfilm deposition apparatus of claim 1, wherein the patterning slit sheetis smaller than the substrate.
 11. The thin film deposition apparatus ofclaim 1, further comprising a barrier plate assembly comprising aplurality of barrier plates that are disposed between the depositionsource nozzle unit and the patterning slit sheet in the first direction,and that partition a space between the deposition source nozzle unit andthe patterning slit sheet into a plurality of sub-deposition spaces. 12.The thin film deposition apparatus of claim 11, wherein the plurality ofbarrier plates extend in a second direction substantially perpendicularto the first direction.
 13. The thin film deposition apparatus of claim11, wherein the plurality of barrier plates are arranged at equalintervals.
 14. The thin film deposition apparatus of claim 11, whereinthe barrier plate assembly comprises a first barrier plate assemblycomprising a plurality of first barrier plates, and a second barrierplate assembly comprising a plurality of second barrier plates.
 15. Thethin film deposition apparatus of claim 14, wherein each of the firstbarrier plates and each of the second barrier plates extend in a seconddirection substantially perpendicular to the first direction.
 16. Thethin film deposition apparatus of claim 15, wherein the first barrierplates are arranged to respectively correspond to the second barrierplates.
 17. The thin film deposition apparatus of claim 16, wherein eachpair of the corresponding first and second barrier plates is arranged onsubstantially the same plane.